The adult narrator of the poem prefers his music incredibly loud, regardless of whether it is classical or rock and roll. He enjoys the intense physical sensation of the sound vibrations, comparing heavy bass notes to a physical strike to the stomach. Seeking a psychic erasure of the ego, he uses deafening volume to escape self-awareness. He envisions an ideal view as an overcast, empty beach entirely devoid of human life or language.

A four-year-old girl who prefers to listen to music at a moderate, decorous volume. At her young age, she is actively trying to build her identity and understand her place in the physical world. She needs to hear her own voice above the music, using it like sonar to locate herself. When music plays too loudly, she feels as though she disappears, a sensation she finds unpleasant and frightening. The speaker imagines she would enjoy looking into a peephole box to study herself wearing her red pants, jacket, and yellow plastic lunch box.